A civil society organisation, Democracy Hub, has filed a suit at the High Court of Justice challenging the validity of the National Democratic Congress’ parliamentary primary for the Ayawaso East Constituency and is seeking an interlocutory injunction to restrain the Electoral Commission from proceeding with the impending by-election.

In the writ, Democracy Hub named the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as the first defendant, the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) as the second defendant, and the Attorney-General’s Department as the third defendant.

Basis of the suit

According to the statement of claim, the action arises from the NDC’s parliamentary primary conducted on February 7, 2026, to select a candidate for the Ayawaso East by-election.

Democracy Hub alleges that the primary was characterised by “widespread vote buying, inducement and monetisation,” citing findings by the party’s own fact-finding committee which reportedly uncovered evidence of systemic distribution of money and items of value to delegates.

The plaintiff argues that despite these findings and recommendations for annulment, the NDC upheld the results and presented the declared winner to the EC as its candidate.

Reliefs sought

The organisation is asking the court for several remedies, including:

- Declarations that the primary did not conform to democratic principles under Article 55(5) of the Constitution and Section 9 of the Political Parties Act.

- A ruling that the EC’s acceptance of the candidate is inconsistent with its constitutional mandate to conduct elections in accordance with the law.

- An order of certiorari quashing the EC’s decision to recognise the candidate.

- An order of mandamus compelling the EC to refuse the nomination until a constitutionally compliant primary is held.

Injunction request

Democracy Hub is further seeking an interlocutory injunction to restrain the EC from:

- Accepting the nomination, or

- Allowing the candidate to contest the by-election,

pending the final determination of the case.

In the alternative, it is asking the court to halt further steps toward the conduct of the Ayawaso East parliamentary by-election scheduled for March 3, 2026.

Plaintiff’s position

In its affidavit and statement of case, Democracy Hub maintains that allowing the by-election to proceed based on what it describes as a compromised primary would undermine constitutional requirements for democratic participation and electoral integrity.

The group contends that damages would not be an adequate remedy and that once the election is conducted and a candidate sworn in, the issues raised would be rendered academic.

It argues that preserving the subject matter of the case through an injunction is necessary to prevent what it calls “irreparable harm to the integrity of the electoral process.”

Representation

The suit was filed by lawyers at Merton & Everett LLP on behalf of Democracy Hub.

The court is expected to determine whether to grant the interim reliefs while the substantive constitutional and administrative issues are heard.